Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

“There Is Only Power”: Surveying The Structures And Operations Of Power In The Magical World Of Harry Potter, Aaron D. Marciniak

Departmental Honors Projects

As the internationally best-selling series Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling moves into its second generation of readers, it becomes increasingly important to analyze the assumptions it communicates about power differentials between people and belief systems. A central tenant of narrative paradigm holds that humans are innately narrative, internalizing narrative frameworks as a means to understand the world which then become externalized through human action. Thus, while the social hierarchies, collective actions, and institutional authorities in the fantasy world of Harry Potter in some ways map onto Anglo-American social and political structures, the significant differences between these textual and “real world” …

A Survey Of Children’S And Young Adult Literature Collections In Academic Libraries Of Christian Higher Education, Melissa Atkinson

The Christian Librarian

Children’s and young adult literature collections have an important place in an academic library. Most often, these collections go unnoticed by many in academia, who may regard children’s literature as irrelevant to the mission of the academic library. In reality, these important collections support institutional curriculum and include interdisciplinary resources used in many academic departments. Findings are reported of a survey conducted of private Christian colleges and universities regarding their management of children’s and young adult literature collections which seeks to identify current practices and procedures being utilized. Results from the survey highlight use, promotion, and management.

The Somewhere We Wish Were Nowhere: Dystopian Realities And (Un)Democratic Imaginaries, Benjamin B. Taylor

Senior Independent Study Theses

How do political practices influence mass culture? Conversely, how does mass culture influence political practice? This project addresses these questions by turning to the concepts of utopia and dystopia. Imagined utopic and dystopic visions express both the hopes and anxieties of the societies producing them. Dystopias also highlight the mechanisms of power that function within particular social orders. Through readings of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, I demonstrate how utopia and dystopia function and how we can respond to dystopic realities by theorizing solutions that are more conducive to the …

Male Development In Young Adult Novels: Mapping The Intersections Between Masculinity, Fatal Illness, Male Queerness, And Brotherhood, Ruth Nelson

Departmental Honors Projects

Since 2000, Young Adult (YA) literature has grown exponentially. The subgenres of cancer novels (teen “sick-lit”) and LGBTQ fiction, in particular, have experienced a recent surge in popularity. The novels in these subgenres that feature young men as the affected characters (diagnosed with cancer and/or identifying as gay or queer) are particularly interesting because of the threats that these experiences pose to heteronormative masculinity. Because this fiction is directed at an impressionable audience in the process of forming their identities, the novels’ representations of gender could have a strong influence over readers’ gender identity development. Researchers have begun exploring the …

The Public Library Experience: Choosing Books To Read From Predetermined Levels And Its Implications, Amy L. Seufert

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore the implications resulting from experiences in libraries that parents and children face when they come to the public library with externally identified reading levels that restrict their reading to materials with a particular numerical measure. The volunteer participants included 27 parents and their children who frequent the public library searching for books, particularly leveled books. Participants completed a simple, paper survey which was located at the library desk over a two week period. Based on their in depth answers to survey questions, three parents of first and second grade students were asked …

The Germ Theory Of Dystopias: Fears Of Human Nature In 1984 And Brave New World, Clea D. Harris

Scripps Senior Theses

This project is an exploration of 20^th century dystopian literature through the lens of germ theory. This scientific principle, which emerged in the late 19^th century, asserts that microorganisms pervade the world; these invisible and omnipresent germs cause specific diseases which are often life threatening. Additionally, germ theory states that vaccines and antiseptics can prevent some of these afflictions and that antibiotics can treat others. This concept of a pervasive, invisible, infection-causing other is not just a biological principle, though; in this paper, I argue that one can interpret it as an ideological framework for understanding human existence …

Copyrights And Creativity: The Affects Of Copyrights On Fairy Tales, Dina Arouri

Honors Program Theses

This work attempts to argue for a correlative relationship between copyright law and the evolution of literary works. It uses the laws and common practices of intellectual property to achieve this hypothesis.

Crew: Finding Community When Your Dreams Crash, Christin N. Taylor

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

Most young adults at some point experience a personal "shipwreck"—missing out on the job you wanted, the unexpected end of a relationship, a crisis of faith—that threatens to rip apart the fabric of your identity. What helps navigate a personal shipwreck is to have a crew of reliable people who walk with you through it.

In Crew: Finding Community When Your Dreams Crash, Christin Taylor explores how young adults can both find good company during a time of personal shipwreck and be good company for others who might be experiencing their own shipwreck. In the process, you will learn …

Swaney At The Museum : A Children's Book About A Transitional Object Overcoming Separation Anxiety, Miriam Berger

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The core of this thesis is an original picture book entitled "Swaney at the museum." It communicates the importance of calming self-talk in the face of anxiety.

"Every Child In Our World Will Know His Name!": Malcolm Gladwell's Theories As An Explanation For The Cultural Phenomenon Of Harry Potter, Alicia Morgan

Masters Theses

When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone hit stores in the United States in 1998, children and adults alike went wild. Not only had Rowling's first book made huge waves in the UK, but Americans were talking about the struggling, single-parent who had penned a children's classic before the book even reached American stores. American audiences accepted Rowling's first novel with open arms, making it one of the first children's books to reach and occupy The New York Times best-seller list for so long. While certain marketing techniques and the rise of the Internet did contribute to Harry Potter's initial …

The Big White Envelope : Addressing Anxiety In Young Children Through A Story, Emily Bramowitz

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper examines the role of literature in mitigating anxiety in young children. It focuses on school-related anxiety, specifically the worried feelings among many children at the start of a new school. Embedded in the text is a children's book about a young girl's anticipation about the start of kindergarten.

Something To Celebrate : Exploring Cultural Celebrations Through Childrens Artwork, Jennifer Kirst

Graduate Student Independent Studies

An original book designed for children aged eight to nine. It is a compilation of artwork, created by children around the world, that explores similarities among the world's many celebrations. Also includes a rationale for creating the book as well as the developmental appropriateness of the concepts presented within the book and examines curriculum implications for using the book

Exploring Literature For Children Of Incarcerated Parents, Tara Di Gerlando

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Investigates the educational need for children's literature that conveys the theme of a child coping with a physical separation from their parent. Includes an original children's story by the author based on a real life story of a son and mother who were separated for almost twenty years due to incarceration.

Graphic Novels In Graduate-Level Library And Information Studies Literature And Materials Courses, Elizabeth M. Downey, Karen Davidson

Publications

Graphic novels and comics have garnered acceptance in recent years, finding their way into library collections, literacy programs, scholarly publications and classrooms. This article examines the use of graphic novels in graduate-level library and information studies programs through a survey conducted of instructors teaching at American Library Association-accredited institutions. The authors wanted to determine whether faculty in library and information studies programs were assigning graphic novels in their literature and materials courses, particularly courses with an emphasis on children’s and ‘young adult’ materials, what graphic novels were being assigned, and how they were incorporated into the curriculum.

A History Of The Pigtail Bridges In South Dakota, Krystol R. Frerking

Graduate Research Papers

The history of the Pigtail Bridges in the Black Hills of South Dakota is an interesting historical story that in children's non-fiction books has not told. Three questions that guided this research were what the best layout/design is for a children's book on the Pigtail Bridges, how does an author select the content for a children's book on a local history topic like the Pigtail Bridges, and what is the most appropriate text structure for this content? The purpose of this research project was to create a non-fiction children's book about the history of the Pigtail Bridges in the Black …

Importance Of Reader's Advisory Interview In Graphic Novel Promotion, Lori Petersen

Graduate Research Papers

Web sites, magazine articles, books, and even summer library programs are promoting graphic novels as an almost magic cure for those children who struggle with the written word or who may be simply lack interest in reading. Much of the appeal of the graphic novel for teachers and librarians is based on the pictures, and it is easy to assume this makes reading easier.

This research sought to explore the graphic novel reading experiences for young readers to ascertain (1) the nature of their understanding of the graphic novel; (2) their tendency to draw inference and interpretation from text and …

A Need For Picture Books Showing Girls Playing Organized Team Sports, Lisa A. Heiden

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project was to create a children's picture storybook depicting female characters participating in competitive team athletics. The book shows a young girl learning about the game of basketball and sharing the experience with her older sister. The researcher has a long history of athletic participation and a deep passion for sports. These experiences allowed the researcher to capture the essence of the sport of basketball and create a picture book for children that engages the reader and possibly encourages participation in athletics for children of various ages. The book gives young, athletic girls an early experience …

Only One Quarterback, Stacey Galles

Graduate Research Papers

Only One Quarterback is a concept book about the game of football using photographs from the Remsen-Union Rocket football program introducing preschool children to the basic concepts of football and relating those concepts to the numbers they are learning. Each number introduces a different football concept. The text is written for the comprehension of preschool children. The words and photographs work together to give a full picture of the football concepts. The book is designed to help children become interested in reading and learning about the game of football. There are few football counting books written especially for preschool children. …

Gender Portrayal In J.K. Rowling's “Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix”: A Feminist Rhetorical Criticism, Nicole Ackman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined J.K. Rowling’s (2003) novel entitled, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Although this novel has not yet been classified as a fairy tale, it does contain fairy tale elements. This study reviewed literature in the field of folklore, fairy tales, and feminism. Foss’ (2004) four-step feminist criticism model was employed to analyze gender portrayals in the novel. According to Foss’ model, the novel was analyzed for masculine or feminine perspectives of the world, effects on the audience, improvement of women’s lives, and impact on rhetorical theory. Although Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix …

A Case Study: The Thoughts On Pleasure Reading For Children Diagnosed With Adhd, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type; Adhd, Predominantly Inattentive Type; Or Adhd, Combined Type, Heather Whitman

Graduate Research Papers

Children diagnosed with attention difficulties may face increased reading difficulties and may choose not to read for pleasure. Research questions used to explore this issue focused on what difficulties these students face in learning to read and how these affect their attitudes on reading and school performance. A second set of questions asked whether these children enjoy reading and how watching television relates to their reading? The third set of questions asked about parents reactions to any difficulties their children had in learning to read and their thoughts involving their children and reading for p)easure? The fourth set of questions …

A Textual Analysis Of The Portrayal Of Parents In Young Adult Literature, Kathryn L. Reisetter Houck

Graduate Research Papers

This research examined the way in which parents are portrayed in young adult literature. Textual analysis was the methodology used to sort and code the 24 books that met the researcher's criteria, which were that books had to be published within the last decade and characters had to be from two-parent, intact families. By looking at the themes, the researcher attempted to interpret the information and draw inferences. The research yielded some surprising results as to how parents are portrayed. in the majority of young adult novels, parents are present at least to some degree. They are typically portrayed in …

More Than Just Imaginative: A Qualitative Study Of Values In Literature For Young Children From The 20th Century, Anna L. Cates

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation endeavors to address the issue of proper methodology for character education. Although character education enjoys wide support among teachers, parents, and society at large, the proper manner with which to accomplish this educational objective continues to be debated. Literature-based approaches to character education are among the most popular means of presenting values to students. This popularity has prompted scholars to closely scrutinize the value patterns in literature for young people. In part, the resulting studies have aimed to ascertain the worthiness of literature itself as a medium for introducing discussion about values and related issues. The method used …

The Effects Of Reading Poetry In Library Classes On Circulation Of The Library’S Poetry Collection, Mary Musselman

Graduate Research Papers

Many of the elementary poetry books on the shelves of the Manson Northwest Webster Barnum Center library in Barnum, Iowa were not being checked out by students. By reading poetry from those books to third and fourth graders during library time the librarian hoped to stimulate interest in those poetry books and increase circulation of them. After keeping track of the poetry book circulation before and after reading poetry to the groups, the reading did in fact increase the circulation of the poetry books significantly at the .05 level.

Literature Connections To Music, Elizabeth Lynn Wick Mclean

Graduate Research Papers

This project was to produce an annotated bibliography of fiction for young adult readers with important characters or themes relating to music. The music and English departments at Mormon Trail Jr./Sr. High School in Garden Grove, Iowa requested a bibliography of young adult fiction related to music as a theme or important character so that teachers and students could choose a story to read when team teaching music and reading. The 120 books annotated were chosen through criteria selected so as to produce a list of books that would meet the curriculum needs of the teachers and reading levels and …

A Look At Adoption Through Young Adult Fiction, Suzanne K. Duneman

Graduate Research Papers

This content analysis study examines adoptees and their families in nineteen young adult novels. An analysis was made of the adoptees sense of identity, the decision to search for their birth families, and their familial relationships. Sixty-three percent of the adoptees speculated about their birth families. Fifty-three percent of the characters did search for their birth families. Of that group, ninety percent had doubts during the search. In the conclusion of the novels sixty-three percent continued to have a relationship with both their adoptive and birth families, and thirty-seven percent maintained a relationship with only their adoptive family.

The Portrayal Of Abandonment By Mothers In Young Adult Literature, Bernie M. Hawley

Graduate Research Papers

This study used content analysis of a selected sample of 33 young adult fiction books published between 1980-1995, to determine if the portrayal of abandonment of children by their mothers is realistic according to social research of those populations. Findings indicate that in a majority of the titles the abandonment is caused by the mother's need to establish her own identity and the abandoned child(ren)'s reactions are characterized by negative behaviors. These findings support the premise that contemporary young adult fiction presents mother abandonment in a realistic manner. It was found, however, that the majority of mothers in these books …

The Portrayal Of Prison Inmates And Their Families In Juvenile Literature, Maleea Dudney

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper was to determine if juvenile literature portrays some characteristics of family members of male prison inmates in a realistic manner. Twenty five juvenile books were analyzed and compared to data gathered regarding characteristics of actual family members of prison inmates. This comparison revealed that juvenile literature does not portray the families of prison inmates in a realistic way.

The Effect Of Booktalking On Fiction Circulation Statistics, Melinda J. Quinn

Graduate Research Papers

Five monthly booktalk programs were presented to the eighth grade reading classes at BGM School. Circulation statistics for first semester of 1992 when these students were in seventh grade were compared to the circulation statistics for the same semester of their eighth grade year in 1993 to determine if the booktalks made a significant difference in this group's reading habits.

An analysis of the data using the chi-square test indicated no significant difference at the .05 level in the circulation statistics for paperback books, hard bound books or total volumes. It seemed, though, that the students reacted positively to the …

Race And The Selection Of Picture Books, Susan Schmitt

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of the study was to investigate preference among kindergarten and second grade children's selection of picture books. The study was conducted with a bi-racial student population of kindergarten and second grade students. The students were given free choice selection of white character books and black character books. Results indicated a difference between kindergarten and second grade students. Kindergarten children significantly preferred books of like-race characters. In second grade, there was no significant difference in the preference of books. The combined data of kindergarten and second grade showed a significant difference in the preference of books.

Silky Ears And Secret Letters, Denise Larae Kuethe-Strudthoff

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this graduate project was for the writer to finish Silky Ears and Secret Letters, a chapter book for readers in grades three through seven. The main character in the story is Marcie Hargate, a sixth grader who does not fit in with her peers and who endures her classmates' taunting. Marcie's only friend is her basset hound, Rutherford. Rutherford is Marcie's confidante; and when she starts to receive letters signed by "Ghost Girl," the basset hound is the first to know. The letters from Ghost Girl worry Marcie because Ghost Girl often suggests in her letters that …